Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is all set to meet All India Congress Committee president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday, breaking his Telugu Desam Party’s 36-year history of keeping a visible distance from the Congress.
The decision to meet Mr. Gandhi was taken at a meeting of Ministers available in Amaravati and senior party leaders over lunch. One Minister was stated to be sceptical about going with the Congress but Mr. Naidu had overruled him. It would be the first time Mr. Naidu is holding a direct dialogue with Mr. Gandhi, though they greeted each other at the swearing-in of H D Kumaraswamy as Karnataka Chief Minister in Bengaluru on May 23.
In the politically significant meeting with Mr. Gandhi, he is expected to discuss ways of bringing together all non- BJP parties on a single platform ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
This is Mr. Naidu’s second visit to Delhi in a week with a heavy political agenda. He is scheduled to meet NCP president Sharad Pawar, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.
The meeting with Mr. Gandhi may take place at Mr. Pawar’s residence. Giving a big push to his efforts to form a broad non-BJP front, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav telephoned him on Tuesday night to extend his support to his efforts.
On Saturday, Mr. Naidu met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, BSP leader Mayawati, CPI General Secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy and Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav besides Mr. Abdullah.
The meeting with the AICC president has come through after Mr. Naidu himself threw a hint at the swearing-in of Mr. Kumarawswamy. A few months later, he allowed his party leaders in Telangana to hold talks with the Congress leaders there. This took the shape and launch of a “people’s alliance” against the TRS comprising the Congress, the TDP, the CPI and the Telangana Jana Samithi to fight the Assembly elections there.
Eversince he walked out of the NDA , funds and not fulfilling the provisions of the AP Re-organistion Act, Mr. Naidu has adopted a strident political posture against the BJP.
He was also cut up with it for ‘egging on’ his immediate political opponents, the YSRCP and the Jana Sena Party, to turn the heat on his government besides unleashing its own leaders. Mr. Naidu perceives a ‘political conspiracy’ by the BJP and the YSRCP against him and cites the series of events that followed the attack on Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
These include the YSRCP allegation that the ‘murderous attempt’ on their leader was ‘engineered’ by the TDP government, BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana demanding President’s rule alleging law and order breakdown .
“All this falls into a pattern and the TDP will have to fight it out politically,” he had told senior leaders last week.
